The Purple Monkey (Book 2 in SRMTHFG series)

5

I do basic exercises around the robot inside of this robot body, even though I've learned how to control it all. Now, I'm able to really help.

In my spare time, I sit down in front of the tube holding my body. I stare at it: my light blonde hair drifting, green eyes shut, blue-and-purple dress fluttering at the hem. I'm watching me now.

"You miss being human, don't you?" Jinmay asks, sitting down beside me.

"A lot," I answer sadly. "I could be crying when I look at that tube, but this is a robot body. I can't cry."

"I know how it feels," Jinmay says quietly. I nod.

"At least you're better off, though. You're able to blush, and cry, and feel pain, and do just about anything a human's capable of, plus a lot more."

"Chelsea, I miss being human, too. I know I'll never be the same again. I'll always be judged a weirdo by some people."

"That was every day of my life for three years straight."

We sit in silence for a minute before she gets up and leaves to help Chiro get some spare robot scraps out of the storage unit that Otto wanted.

I close the robot's eyes and go back in my voice. I immediately go to the clearing under the stars. This time, though, something different happens.

The stars come down, the voices ringing and singing louder and louder. They harmonize perfectly with each other, if I do say so myself. They twist and come together in one beam of light swirling around me. I'm mesmerized by it, and I go forward, reaching my hand out to touch it. A sensation fills my body and becomes stronger the closer I get to the beam. I'm about to touch it when I'm shaken and taken back to reality.

"Chelsea! Chelsea!" Chiro says, shaking my shoulder. "It's showtime!"

We join the monkeys by the escape hatch. Skeleton King's ship is outside. We leap out, safety gear on, and zoom towards the ship.

Landing on the roof, we climb in, going down all sorts of corridors. Suddenly, I hear a yell.

"Help! Help me! Get me outta here!" a familiar voice yells.

"C'mon!" Chiro says, leading us down the corridor. We come to the holding cells.

Inside the cell is a boy with black hair, brown eyes, and pale-ish skin. He's in a gray sweater and blue jeans, chained to the wall. He's somebody I know all too well.

"Markus?!"